52 Food Adventures #4 - Homemade Yogurt

Here at Chez Knit we continue to strive to be economical and healthy at the same time.

And also I just like knowing that I can make these things from scratch just because I think that we all consume too many things that have too many additives.

People have been making yogurt for many years before Salton came up with a yogurt maker like the one my Grandmother Amsler had when I was growing up. I hate kitchen gadgets that have only one purpose so I knew there had to be a way to make yogurt with common household items. Thank you Pinterest for helping me find the way.

Getting off soap box now.

Let me tell you something. I really don’t like yogurt all that much. Oh I have tried to like it. You know it is something that you SHOULD like and that so many other people eat and love but……we just never could get along.

Until now that is. Until I took the time to make my yogurt from scratch.

Oh Momma.

And because I love all of you I am going to tell you how I did it. You will love me. And curse me when you find out how many hours this really takes.

Lets get started shall we. The original recipe and instructions came from Bacon In My Pocket and I have to tell her an eternal THANK YOU!

There aren’t too many ingredients thankfully. I didn’t take pictures of the pots that you will need to use. If you download the recipe they are listed.

Can I tell you how much I love these lids. I find them at Wally Mart during the canning season and buy as many as I can. You can’t “can” with them but they are super for storage lids.

You will also need a large cooler. Go ahead and pour in a gallon of almost boiling water, close the lid and leave it.

You must have a thermometer. Don’t think you can guess. I know because that was what I did the first time I tried to make yogurt. It wasn’t a pleasant outcome. And I had not excuse because I had a thermometer handy.

Put your milk into your heavy bottom pot and start to heat it up slowly. You are going to want to get to 190F and once there you are going to turn the heat down and hold the milk at 190F for 10 minutes. While you are doing this you can sterilize the quart jars and just leave them in the hot water until you need them. Heating the milk slowly will take a while just so that you know.

DO NOT think you can go and do something else. Stay in the kitchen and read the paper and check the milk every 5 minutes. Stir it VERY frequently. If you scorch the milk it is unusable as yogurt.

Even if you are doing everything right you are still going to get the milk concrete that forms on the bottom of the pan. It is a pain to get off but you will just have to live with it.

Once your milk has been at 190F for 10 minutes you then have to cool it down. The quickest way is just to sit the pan in the sink in an ice bath. Stir the milk gently until it reaches 120F.

See, 120F on the dot.

Now thoroughly stir in your yogurt starter. I actually use a whisk so that it is well incorporated.

If you are making Vanilla Yogurt you will also add the sugar and the vanilla. All those little dark things in the vanilla extract? Those are vanilla beans from my homemade extract.

{{{{{Shivers of joy}}}}}

Now pour the soon to be yogurt into the hot mason jars. I would suggest you use a measuring cup or ladle to do this. I did but evidently I still couldn’t help making a mess.

Yogurt in waiting

Check the water temp in your cooler. It should be around 120F. Put your jars into the cooler and add enough very hot tap water (120F) to the cooler to bring the water level up to 1/4 of the way up the sides of the jars. Close the lid of the cooler tightly. Set your timer for 5 hours and go do something else.

DO NOT OPEN THE COOLER

DO NOT TAKE THE JAR OUT AND TURN IT OR JIGGLE IT TO SEE IF “IT IS WORKING”

LEAVE IT.

After the 5 hours is up take the jars out of the cooler and put them in the back of your refrigerator and let them cool down over night.

And then next morning???

Oh be still my beating heart. Creamy and smooth. Slightly sweet with a wonderful hint of vanilla.

Oh the smoothies in my future!

>>>>> Homemade Yogurt<<<<<